Jon Commers
Metropolitan Council Member, District 14
Jon Commers was appointed to the Metropolitan Council by Gov. Mark Dayton in March 2011. Commers represents District 14, which includes the area of St. Paul west of Interstate 35E.
Commers is the principal of St. Paul-based Donjek Incorporated, a consulting business he founded in 2007, that provides financial and policy analysis for public, private, and nonprofit clients. Previously, he worked as the research director for the Association of Metropolitan School Districts and as a project manager for Springsted Public Finance Advisors, both in St. Paul. He was also an adjunct professor of economics for the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.
As a Council member, Commers chairs the Land Use Advisory Committee and the Investment Review Committee, vice chair of the Community Development Committee and also serves on the Transportation Committee.
“I hope to help create policy that increases the livability, energy security, economic strength, and access for the region as a whole,” Commers said.
“In my view, our region currently has cause for both optimism and concern – we have a diverse economy that has weathered the recession better than most, but still we have seen lower rates of economic growth in recent years. Although these aren’t squarely under the purview of the Council, they are clearly trends influenced by the work we do.”
Commers also served on the St. Paul Planning Commission between 2006 and 2011, including time serving as its chair and vice chair. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council in Washington, D.C., and was a policy fellow at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He has served on numerous boards of directors for community organizations in the region.
Commers received his bachelor’s degree in history and political economy from Carleton College in Northfield. He has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. He lives in St. Paul’s St. Anthony Park neighborhood with his wife, Beth, and their three children.
To contact Commers, you may call 651-645-4644, or e-mail jon.commers@metc.state.mn.us.